NEW YORK (1010 WINS) -- A pit bull is fighting for his life, after being bitten by a rattlesnake in the Bronx Tuesday.

Miguel Mota, the dog's owner, was walking the male pit bull, named "Stone," in a public park near the Bronx Zoo at Boston Road and Bronx Park East when the dog went into the bushes and yelped.

When he came out of the bushes, he was bleeding, and Mota rushed Stone to the Bronx Zoo - and then to several vet hospitals that couldn't deal with a snake bite until he got to the NYC Veterinary Specialists at 55th Street and 9th Avenue in Manhattan.

Dr. Ben Davidson diagnosed the wounds and bites from a rattlesnake, and immediately gave the dog anti-venom - in an effort to save its life.

The dog is still being treated - but will need much more anti-venom, something that is in very short supply in New York. Mota says he can't afford the $4,000 bill racked up so far, and so for now the doctors are paying out of their own pockets.

Mota says he knew it was a rattlesnake, because he saw one on the Discovery Channel, and it's still out there somewhere near the Bronx Zoo.

He says he fears if a child were to have been near the area and gotten bitten.

Never make someone a priority in your life when that someone treats you like an option.

BRONX (WABC) -- There's a rattlesnake on the loose in the Bronx. Where it came from is still unclear but Miguel Mota of Pelham Parkway knows it's out there because it bit his dog.

Mota's beloved dog Stone should make a complete recovery. The 4-year-old pit bull remains sedated and carefully monitored by the doctors and nurses at the NYC Veterinary Specialists in midtown. Dr.s say the bite was most likely on one sides of Stone's body because that's where most of the swelling is.

Around 4 p.m. On Tuesday afternoon, Mota brought Stone for a routine walk in a wooded area near the Bronx Zoo when the 31-year-old security guard heard his dog yelp and he knew something was wrong.

"And I'm like, come over here. So when I came I saw a little drop of blood coming out. And when I touch it, he cried again and my dog never cries," said Mota.

He then moved in to see what bit Stone and that's when he saw a snake slithering away. A quick look back at Stone revealed the snake was certainly venomous, a rattler.

Mota adds, "And that's when his body started changing. He started drooling and getting slower. And I'm like, what's going on? That's how I knew, a venomous snake."

In a mad dash for anti-venom, Mota struck out. First at two nearby veterinarians, then a hospital and then the Bronx Zoo. He finally landed at the NYC Veterinary Specialists where doctors quickly administered two doses and saved Stone's life.

"The more time the venom has to be in the body, the more damage it's going to do. So the anti-venom is there to neutralize the snake's venom in the bloodstream and reduce its effects on the body," said Dr. Benjamin Davidson.

Stone is resting comfortably as authorities continue to look for the snake.

The NYC Veterinary Specialists had the hard to find anti-venom in part because of its relationship with centers in Florida, where rattlesnakes are much more common.

The doctors and a charitable fund will pick up the tab for the anti-venom, which costs about $1,000 per dose.

STORY BY: Eyewitness News reporter Joe Torres

Video and photos on weblink

And if anyone wishes to thank NYC Veterinary Specialists for their hard work and very generous donations: http://www.nyc-vs.com/

Never make someone a priority in your life when that someone treats you like an option.